Samsung made a huge mistake with the Galaxy S6 and blew its chances of getting back at Apple

Oof. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo Samsung has posted another set of disappointing quarterly earnings, with the launch of its newest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S6, failing to bolster its business.

The South Korean electronics company released its earnings report for Q2 on Wednesday. Profits dropped 8% year-on-year — its fifth consecutive decline. Sales, meanwhile, dropped from 52.35 trillion won in Q2 2014 to 48.54 trillion won today.

Part of the problem is Samsung's anticipation of demand. The S6 comes in two models: the S6 and the S6 Edge, which is more expensive and features a curved screen. According to a report in The Journal earlier this month, Samsung assumed demand for the devices would be around four to one in favour of the regular S6. But the Edge has turned out to be much more popular, and demand is closer to one to one. The company was left scrambling, with excess inventory of S6 units and not nearly enough of the more expensive S6 Edge units to satisfy demand.

Blogger Ben Thompson wrote in his Daily Update email earlier in July that this was "a pretty clear screwup," with Samsung failing to recognise what its customers were actually after. He went on:

[It] suggests they don't understand just how starkly the smartphone market has bifurcated: the only people buying a high-end Android phone want the top-of-the-line, and that means the Edge. Anyone who is concerned about price isn't going to save $100 by buying a normal S6; they're going to save $500 and get a perfectly serviceable phone that runs the exact same software.

That supply outstrips demand is, on the face of it, a good thing for Samsung. It means people want the company's phones. But it's also an entirely avoidable problem.

At the low end, Samsung is facing unprecedented pressure from challengers such as Xiaomi and Huawei (which is now the world's third-largest smartphone manufacturer, according to Strategy Analytics). The fact that Samsung uses Android as its operating system makes it difficult to meaningfully distinguish itself from its competitors. These companies are able to sell equivalent handsets for much less money than Samsung, and they are eroding Samsung's market share as a result.

Of course, Samsung is still making a profit. And there is clearly demand for the S6 Edge — even if Samsung has failed to properly prepare for it. In contrast, HTC, another high-end smartphone maker, expects an operating loss of $166 million for the second quarter of 2015, TechCrunch reports.

But the Galaxy S6 was supposed to help turn things around. It looks as if that just hasn't happened.